State probing 11 Saratoga thoroughbred deaths

The state will be investigating the 11 horse deaths during the Saratoga meet, up from eight a year ago, the Gaming Commission said on Friday.

In a statement the commission said: “Although New York State has made significant progress in reducing injuries and preventing the inappropriate use of medication in racehorses, the job of equine safety is never done. There will be challenges along the way. We are experiencing such a challenge during the 2014 Saratoga meet. A thorough investigation of all of the racing fatalities during the 2014 Saratoga meet is being conducted. Until that investigation is complete, it would be inappropriate to opine or make any final statements about definitive cause of injury.”

Here is the data: There were eight equine fatalities during the 2013 Saratoga meet, five at in racing and three in training. All eight involved musculoskeletal fractures of the lower limb.

There have been 11 equine fatalities during the 2014 Saratoga meet, two at racing events and three in training involving involving musculoskeletal fractures of the lower limb. There were also were two cervical fractures and one lumbar spinal injury and three episodes of sudden death.

James M. Odato

16 Responses

I am so very disturbed by the deaths of the racing horses in your care. There ia a felony involved that I have discovered with my research recently. Please rectify this situation ASAP. djmlightsoftruth@yahoo.com

NY state cares little for the welfare of these animals as long as the tax receipts are up!
They will do nothing for horses.
Horses are injected with drugs to make them run when they are injured!
This is the dirty little secret of thoroughbred racing! This is patently abuse of animals but no one will stop it because of the money involved!
Hope you enjoyed the track this summer.

This is the primary reason why I have never patronized the flat track, and I have lived in the Capital District for more than 60 years. That said, I do not expect anything to come of the investigation because of the huge sums of money involved. God forbid the rich and shameless should be held accountable for anything other than perhaps using the wrong fork at dinner. Shut down NYRA for all I care. Saratoga will do just fine without it.

I hate horse racing. Watching these beautiful animals whipped to run faster is disgusting. Horses can live till they are 30. Do the owners retire them to a nice grassy paddock? More likely they end up at auction bound to Canada for slaughter.

Horses are treated like the undocumented immigrants who take care of them and live in stables. This whole industry that rides on the backs of animals and slave labor should be outlawed. I’ll go to the track when it’s a man on the back of another running around in circles. Drag a ball in front of them and call it manball. Abusing animals for one’s pleasure is never a sport and much less humane. Have some dignity, folks.

Cuomo speaks through each and every agency statement – his will is adhered to by peoeple who rather would take a different stand. Professionals: Think for yourself – take a stand and say something that isn’t part of talking points handed down by the Executive Chamber. Psst… He isn’t indicted yet???

Money, Money that’s what it’s all about. A horse dies there is another one to take its place.. Betting on horses is an addiction. Go to the track and see kids under 18 betting( with their parents)Or watching smokers puff away and the drunks walking around looking for winning tickets. What a place to bring a young child.. Worst then a casino you don’t see anybody under 18 in there. Many of those people that bet at Saratoga save for months and act like big shots and lose it all.. Watch for prices to go up next year.. need to make a bigger profit..

“Also, race horses are treated properly and humanely, those who put inaccurate, untruthful hyperbole on internet boards about the industry should be ashamed of themselves.”
JG, is that the reason why 11 horses died in one track season? 19 horses in two? That is one lame statement, if I’ve ever heard one!

Garry. Is there any room in your moralistic view for the idea that all people who bet on horses are not addicts, and the people who pick up tickets (they are called stoopers in the trade, by the way) are all drunks. I don’t need to save all year to go to Saratoga in my permanent seats, and I by no means am one of the affluent class. I choose to spend my retirement enjoyment at the track. Two weeks ago, I had a great time taking my four grandchildren to the track for the first time, and, guess what, I did not turn them into drooling track degenerates. They loved the ambiance, the noise, the excitement, and had a great day. They also participated in the kid’s pavilion entertainment. Bet you didn’t know that is part of the Saratoga experience. But, you can revel in the fact that your biased view is also shared by our Governor, who can’t even find the track. Our Governor couldn’t bother to show up on Travers Day, our Midsummer Derby. The Governor of Kentucky manages to make it to the Kentucky Derby. Guess he understands the importance of the event to his State. And I guess smokers and the track are a deadly combination to you. Last time I knew, football fans and baseball fans could also smoke in their venues, but obviously not as deadly.

Horse racing abuses horses by starting to ride, train, and race them too young and before their bones and ligaments are able to withstand the rigors of running top speed for long distance with weight on their backs.
For anyone who disagrees, maybe you can explain why it is that most race horses are finished by the time they are 5 years old, if they have not broken down and died during training or on the track. Many of them are crippled and have injuries that preclude them from a useful career – which is why many past Kentucky Derby winners ended up being sold for slaughter after their career was over. So much for the story about all race horse owners love them just like family.
Conversely, if you watch the Olympics, you’ll notice that many horses are healthy and sound and still competing into their 20’s at the world class level in things Cross Country Jumping, Stadium Jumping, and Dressage. These events are every bit as physically demanding as racing. The difference is that those horses are not trained hard before they are ready. The trouble with the race horse owners is that they do not want to wait until a horse is 4 or 5 to BEGIN racing them. It’s all about the money. Keeping a horse is expensive and the owners do not want to waste their money by maintaining a horse that might have no speed. Instead they race it almost as soon as it is old enough to ride to cash in.

Saratoga has successfully sold the image of horse racing. Hopefully a more cash strapped city like Schenectady could help prop up its local economy by harnessing another historically rich sport, say rat-baiting.